The Plenary of Congress has approved this Wednesday the reprimand of the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, for his actions in response to the crisis caused by the massive entry of immigrants in Ceuta last July, and has demanded that the Government require "clear explanations" from Morocco about its role in those events.
These demands are included in the motion resulting from the interpellation that the PP directed to Marlaska last week, a text submitted to a vote by sections, but ultimately supported as a whole.
In particular, the Chamber has disapproved of the head of the Interior for the management at the head of his department, the "evident lack of protection of the Spanish borders," the "abandonment of Ceuta and its repeated contradictions regarding prior warnings and alerts."
This section, which also asks the President of the Government to proceed with his dismissal, has progressed with the support of PP, UPN, and Junts. For its part, Podemos, Bildu, BNG, Coalición Canaria, and Àgueda Micó (Compromís) have abstained, while PSOE, Sumar, ERC, and PNV have voted against.
Furthermore, the motion demands that the Executive immediately and permanently reinforce the presence in the autonomous city of the National Police, the Civil Guard, and, as long as necessary, the Armed Forces in Ceuta, providing them with personnel, material means, accommodations, allowances, and adequate conditions to ensure border protection, maintain public order, and restore normalcy.
In this line, it calls for the deployment of special security devices in streets, public spaces, educational centers, their access points, and the usual routes of "schoolchildren, women, and minors." All these proposals have moved forward with the favorable vote of PP, Vox, UPN, and CC, the abstention of Junts and PNV, and the rejection of the rest of the groups.
Return of immigrants and situation of minors
Likewise, PP, Vox, and Junts have allowed the approval of the point that urges the Government to adopt all necessary measures to make effective the return or removal of those who entered irregularly in Ceuta, a section in which only CC has abstained and against which PSOE, Sumar, and their usual partners have voted.
The Chamber proposes to resort to all available national, European, and bilateral legal instruments and urgently increase the human and material resources allocated to the identification and processing of return, removal, or asylum files.
In relation to unaccompanied foreign minors, Congress urges prioritizing their identification, the determination of their age, and the location of their families in order to proceed, attending to their best interest, with their return to the family environment or their delivery to the protection services of their country of origin.
The PP has also managed to push forward its proposals in the diplomatic field, which have received the support of Vox and UPN and the abstention of CC, Junts, and PNV. Thus, the Government is asked to call for consultations with the Spanish ambassador in Morocco and to reconvene the Moroccan ambassador in Spain in light of the reiteration of claims regarding Ceuta and Melilla by members of the Moroccan Government.
In the same way, the Executive is requested to demand clear explanations regarding the actions of the Moroccan authorities during the days of July 30 and 31 and, in particular, regarding whether they "allowed, consented to, or facilitated the massive entry that violated a Spanish and European border in Ceuta."
In the session this Wednesday, the motion resulting from the interpellation that Vox also directed at Marlaska in the previous Control Plenary has also been put to a vote, but, unlike that of the PP —which in this case has abstained—, it has been rejected.
The Vox proposal rejected by Congress
The text of Vox, ultimately defeated, pointed to the Government as "guilty" of the "crimes" that immigrants may commit in Ceuta and of the economic consequences of their presence in the autonomous city. Furthermore, it recognized the work of the Security Forces and Bodies and the military deployed in Ceuta and denounced the conditions under which they carry out their work, which, according to Vox, are due to the "neglect" of the Executive.
In another of its points, the document reaffirmed the "full and indisputable Spanish sovereignty" over Ceuta, Melilla, the Chafarinas, Vélez de la Gomera, Perejil, and Alhucemas, rejected any negotiation with Morocco in this regard —explicitly mentioning the option of "shared sovereignty"—, condemned the statements of Moroccan ministers questioning their Spanish identity, and demanded from Morocco the recognition of Spanish sovereignty in North Africa.
The Vox initiative also defended the return to Morocco of all the people who entered Ceuta illegally, as well as the military and police reinforcement of the borders with more material, technological, and legal means, including the deployment of the Navy at the maritime border and the provision to these forces of "clear and lawful rules of engagement that ensure the success of their function."
Finally, it proposed to report what happened to international organizations, suspend the Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighborliness, and Cooperation signed in 1991 with Morocco if the Alaouite kingdom does not rectify its "hostile actions," and promote in the European Union the suspension or revision of the association agreement with this country.